Fallout 1 companions

Context

The Fallout video games series (1997-present) takes place in an over-the-top post-apocalyptic setting. It mixes a Mad Max aspect, 1950s atomic horror conventions and various “after the Bomb” influences.

For a primer, see our sample Vault Dweller (the Player Character in the first Fallout game). DC Heroes players can also refer to the generic deathclaw entry for scale explanations.

This article is about the very first Fallout game only. As a consequence, the portraits in the right-hand images stack are completely made up – it’s not like one can tell from the sprite.

Very little is known about the recruitable Non-Player Characters in the first Fallout game, so I just went for mostly cookie-cutter game stats. It’s just a nod toward these characters, but since many of us here at writeups.org like Fallout…

The Hero Points total assume that most HPs in the story are spent on Last Ditch Defense.

Ian

“Garl’s some dumb-ass who thinks he can take over the world with his crummy raiders. Yeah, whatever.”

“Not that you asked me, but the man needs to give you a little breathing room.”

High-capacity 10mm pistol [BODY 03, Projectile weapons: 04, Ammo: 18, R#03]. Ian is initially armed with a 10mm pistol, and is often later given a 10mm submachinegun which he usually uses in semi-auto mode (though I wouldn’t advise giving Ian a burst-capable weapon). Giving him a high-capacity 10mm pistol is thus a good approximation of what’s happening on the screen.

Overview:
Ian is professional muscle. He used to work as a caravan guard for one of the merchants companies at the Hub, the Crimson Caravan. During a bandit attack he was wounded near the Shady Sands hamlet, and had to stay there to recover so the caravan could continue.

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Presumably he was treated by Razlo, the excellent local doctor, and made a full recovery. To repay the locals, Ian stuck around to help with protecting Shady Sands, and to run errands to Junktown or the Hub since he was far more qualified to travel the dangerous wastelands than your average peasant.

Though he considered the Shady Sands militiamen to be idiots, he liked the peaceful community.

Ian is said to be a short and stocky fellow. He wears boots, blue jeans and a reinforced black leather jacket. Given the 1950s aesthetics of Fallout it is difficult not to imagine looking and talking like a stereotypical greaser.

The sprite looks like he might have long hair, which would correspond to a look closer to a 1970s metalhead. Our made-up portrait uses a greaser haircut due to a lack of good metalhead haircuts in the software.

He ain’t the sharpest knife in the drawer and has lowbrow tastes. But he’s a fairly benign guy and sounds positive and reliable.

Ian mentions a romantic interest of his living in the Hub. Given his later comments, said person might be a prostitute at one of the casino/bars.

In the canonical memoirs of the Vault Dweller, Ian is hired by the Dweller at Shady Sands and accompany him all the way to Necropolis. There he’s killed by a super-mutant armed with a flamer.

Overview:
A vicious, but not small, dog that will savagely attack anything physically threatening its mistress. He will start growling well before that. It is a genuine menace in combat, and remarkably strong.

Dogmeat is heavily implied — through Mad Max jokes — to mostly resemble an Australian Cattle Dog. But it’s probably not its actual pedigree. Since it doesn’t have any, being an ugly mutt.

The Vault Dweller stumbles upon Dogmeat in Junktown. The dog’s previous owner was apparently killed by local gangers the Skulz but a few days before. For some reason it decided to stay in front of a house, making it impossible for the old man living there to get home.

As the Vault Dweller happened to be wearing leathers resembling its former owner’s, Dogmeat spontaneously decided to adopt her.

In the canonical memoirs of the Vault Dweller, Dogmeat dies during the invasion of the Mariposa military base by the Vault Dweller.

Tycho

“Heard some tales about something faster, bigger, and meaner than any living creature has a right to be. Not too many, though, which means that it doesn’t leave many survivors. Big claws, ferocious disposition.”

“Don’t drink water that’s totally clear and free of insects and moss… Only poisonous or radioactive water would be that clean in the wilderness.”

Gas Mask [BODY 03, Sealed systems: 06, R#3, Limitation: Sealed systems only against gasses and other attacks aimed at the face]. One suspects that it is chiefly intended as protection during sandstorms, and to absorb fewer rems when spending too much time in windy conditions.

Repeater Shotgun [BODY 04, Shotgun Blast (Range 03): 06, Ammo: 07, R#03, Recommended STR: 02, Drawback: Very Long Reload]. In the game Tycho starts with a double-barrelled shotgun and is often upgraded with a sniper rifle (used at close range) or a combat shotgun (mostly used semi-auto).So a repeater shotgun – which weirdly does not exist in Fallout 1 – is the best approximation of what’s happening on the screen. A good choice would be a descendant of the lever-action Winchester 1887 – see our Old West Weapons Locker article – to give him the rugged cowboy look and feel.

Combat knife [BODY 05, EV 03 (04 w/STR)] and Brass Knuckles (same).

Overview:
Tycho is a lone traveller of the wastes. Since he’s weathered and well-armed most assume he’s a mercenary, but he’s actually an itinerant lawman.

He’s a member of an elite organisation, the Desert Rangers, which are inspired by the Texas Rangers as they existed all the way back during the Old West. Tycho is an experienced survivalist and trekker. He has criss-crossed much of the post-apocalyptic American Southwest, from the Pacific to the Gulf of Mexico.

Tycho states that he’s from Nevada, but at this point nothing is known about the events there.

Like all companions Tycho has little dialogue. But he seems to be a friendly guy interested in sharing stories and knowledge – and in helping with any effort to protect the population against criminals.

When the Vault Dweller approached him for advice about desert survival he unhesitatingly gave her a lengthy crash course free of charge, then volunteered to join her efforts to make Junktown a more stable community.

Tycho isn’t mentioned in the canonicals memoirs of the Vault Dweller.

Katja

“I used to be a scav. We’d go out at night and try to find useful stuff in the ruins of the Boneyard. Very dangerous job. I got sick of Adytum, though.”

If recruited Katja is often given a handgun – a common choice would be a Desert Eagle [BODY 03, Projectile weapons: 05, Ammo: 09, Rec. STR 02, R#03]. Some also equip her with a Ripper vibroblade (see the Fallout weapons locker) [BODY 04, Claws: 06, Ammo: 30, Rec. STR 02, Drawback: Long Reload Time] since she’s more of a blade artist.

Overview:
Katja is from the Adytum , a small but fairly secure facility in the Boneyard – the ruins of Los Angeles. She used to run with the scavenging teams, who explored the ruins to bring back resources and information to Adytum.

However, after the failure of their hydroponic farms made the previously self-sufficient Adytum increasingly desperate and dependent on racketeering merchants, Katja left. She couldn’t stand the growing paranoia and xenophobia in her community.

Thus, by 2161 she lives in the Boneyard scavenging for herself, and frequently associates with the Followers of the Apocalypse. The Followers are a quasi-religion promoting peace, rebuilding and healing. The food and medical care they often provide for free are very attractive for people such as Katja.

She hates dogs, perhaps due to some bad encounters with feral packs in the ruins.

Katja isn’t mentioned in the canonicals memoirs of the Vault Dweller.

By Sébastien Andrivet.

Source of Character: Fallout (1997 video game) – this article only covers the first game.